Traces Through Time: Spider Threads
by quiet.recluse
Summary: Part 2,don't have to read Part 1. Trying to cope in a new setting, Efrona let's people help her on the healing path-she didn't mean to start an illicit affair. One of secrets, angst, delicate as spider threads-and just as easily brushed away, forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

I'm back folks, with the second part of Traces Through Time! There's few things to clear up though.

First, I have changed my pen name-previously known as Divine-Dreamer. I'm sorry if this change brought on slight confusion.

Secondly, I have also slightly changed the name of part one of this series (trilogy). I have given up just calling them part one, part two, etc-it's a little droll. I've renamed part one as 'Pieces'. Again, apologies if this causes confusion.

Thirdly-this chapter may be a little strange, but bare with me for awhile. The start of this might be a little rocky.

Thank you to those readers who reviewed 'Traces Through Time: Pieces'. It means a lot. For those of you who haven't read it, I think you can still read this part without going back-I'm a little ashamed of my writing in that section, it's improved since when I started it. Here's a summary of the main character, and her story, which is basically what 'Pieces' is in between the Orichalcos saga.

_OC main character name_**: Efrona Kwan**

_Edited Prologue_**: Atlantis had been gone for many years. Not one person was known to survive; no one knew enough to pass on a legend hidden and faded through the passing of time, unknown to most of the used-to-be populace even when it began. The legend of the connection between Atlantis, supposed paradise on earth, and their other dimension partner, which was merely named the Heavens.**

**A race of angel-like people made of apprentices, masters, gods and goddesses was the dimension's structure. Apprentices trained since they were young to use their powers, for boys it was to become a master and maybe one day a part of the council of gods. For girls, they were trained to become goddesses that worked in different departments of managing their world. They had a high level of technology, much higher then any standard on earth, and even more advanced then Atlantis at the peak of its glory.**

**They were a discreet race, who sometimes helped the Atlanteans secretly without being detected. The few humans they revealed themselves to, were good people, who they decided specifically had a good heart and would remain that way. The royal family of Atlantis had a vague knowledge of the angel race, but since it was requested not to be written down, even that small bit of knowledge they had was lost in time. The people of the Heavens knew much about the people of Atlantis though-their technology relied on the amount of life on Atlantis, thus the secret relationship between the two dimensions.**

**Sadly though, when Atlantis was washed away in the tsunami wave, the gods had built their life styles too reliantly on their technology. Due to the loss of Atlantis, the whole mainframe shut down, or exploded. Not even any nature survived to power their mainframe. Each being in the Heavens had their life energy connected to the mainframe. As the mainframe was wrecked and corrupted, so did them. Their usually controlled emotions were given free reign, and their despair, sadness and horror overtook them. Most died, and their spirit set free to roam inside a sort of dream-like reality built on memories, where they could live as before without any danger. The ones that lived through the first wave of deaths grew twisted. ****They became more children for the Orichalcos, the entity which had infected Atlantis before its destruction, and joined the original monsters.**

**However, one goddess, named Belldandy, had not been directly at the Heavens, as she lived with her human lover in a modernised Atlantis. She had survived the tidal wave due to her original wind powers which protected her, but in the chaos, her lover had died. While she may have been a powerful, highly ranked goddess, her people did not have the power to resurrect the dead. She wept for him, then sensed something wrong in the Heavens, and went up to check. The sight she was greeted with was destruction.**

**Distraught and nearly senseless with grief, she fled back to earth (the original plane of reality), and coincidently ended up landing in the Nile River, in an early Egypt where Pharaoh Narmer was newly ruling the land. In the shallower parts of the Nile, she lay on the shores and let herself be consumed by grief, killing her by the next day. Before she died, she had taken her staff, the only remnant she had of Heaven, and changed it to a bracelet with simliar carving design to her staff. She cast a spell over it, and then set it adrift on the Nile, before she died.**

**The bracelet was to carry a destiny with it. Only one that was related to Keiichi, her lover, would inherit her powers, and may lay true claim to the bracelet. She had done that so if her body was found, none would be able to get her powers from her staff, or try and use her blood in dark spells. What she did not count on was that the gods and goddesses of Egypt would take notice of her, and help her, since she was a pure, powerful soul. They made her body a part of the Nile itself, thus changing her power-from wind to water, and consequently ice. Since she was dead, that power was stored with the rest of her own powers, to await the destined person.**

**For you see, Belldandy had not known that in fact one relative of Keiichi survived, by being put in a wicker basket lined with blankets while still a baby. That basket was rushed through vast bodies of water to end up in Ancient China, by the coast. A woman with a kind spirit would find the baby girl and take her in as her own daughter. The girl would grow up with Belldandy's powers inside her, but still sealed until the right time was appropriate to unlock them, for a descendant that would truly need it. The right descendant would not be born until many millennia later, in the late twentieth century.**

_Storyline_**: Efrona Kwan is the new girl that comes to Domino City, and starts at Domino High. She acts as a cheerful, fifteen year old teenager who doesn't get down easily, bubbliness, etc. However, she isn't merely just a teenage girl.**

**She holds the power to control water, haunt dreams and make people forget memories through the use of two things: her old bracelet, which was the key to unlocking a power that had been passed down from her ancestors for many millennia; and her necklace, which cast a forgetting spell on water she chose to enchant. The spell would wear off after a week, but for Efrona, that was enough. She could also share thoughts and memories with others she chose, and power up things with magic to an extent. (That's just a summary of her abilities.)**

**Efrona discovered her powers tragically-a mad spirit (Akunadin) came after her, wanting her power to use against the Pharaoh, and killed her family before her eyes (quite gorily) when she was twelve, thus destroying her happy stability in life. She was christened Elisa Kuria, but after the tragedy of her family she disappeared from the world, changing her name to Efrona Kwan and creating a new identity for herself. To get away from her memories, she moved to America.**

**She met Yugi and his gang at Domino High, as a new student. Again, she bumped into them when headed for the museum, to solve the mystery of the Pharaoh's missing memories. So the Doom Saga started, where she acted as the guardian of the Pharaoh and his friends, to see destiny take its path correctly. In doing so, by the end, the Orichalcos was banished, and the people of the Heavens who were trapped with the Orichalcos were set free, to go to the realm of dreams with their comrades.**

**The Pharaoh felt a sense of responsibility over Efrona's history-from the abridged, edited version of her history Efrona told, near the end of the story, he worked out that the person who killed her family, came after her because he wanted her powers to hurt him. Thus his guilt for Efrona's suffering, and desire to protect her like he does with his friends. Efrona tried to make her first close friends in a long while with Yugi and her friends, but the past constantly haunted her. In the end, she erased herself from the memories of everyone in Domino City, and left.**

**The story finishes later on, when she has just recently turned sixteen. She is in Egypt-even after she left Yugi and his friends, she kept tabs on their last adventure, sending Atem to the Afterlife, though she didn't enter the Memory World herself-that would have been intruding too much on privacy. (She kept secret, distant tabs on them before.) It has been a year, yet she still feels the loneliness her decision to leave Domino left. She relaxes by the Nile River, when she suddenly feels a menacing presence, a presence she had not felt since she was twelve, unless you counted a slight scare that Ryou gave her before. She falls into the Nile, and is pulled in deeply. She loses consciousness.**

**In an unknown place and time, a person stumbles across the body of a strangely dressed girl, still breathing, lying by the River Nile. Like a mother hugging its daughter, the Nile protects her from the burning elements by blanketing everything but her face in water...**

I meant that to be a short summary, and instead it's as long as this chapter. Urk! Anyway, sorry about the lack of grammatical sense there. Continuing on...

_

* * *

_

_I suppose, Ya-er, Atem leaving would have stopped all my more pressing problems. I was certain I wouldn't have any more trouble of the magical type, and only needed to deal with scars of the past and gang fights. Oh no, in fact fate hasn't finished playing with me. I was needed elsewhere, in another place, in another time…_

_Let me tell you all, moving in any way, shape or form against your will is NOT fun. I say this with all honesty, since I experienced it. So that's how my second adventure began._

* * *

"Besides slight dehydration, she's fine. There is nothing wrong with her."

"When do you think she'll wake up?

"In a few hours."

* * *

_Where…where am I?_

_**Where you should be, my foolish daughter.**_

_You have no right to call me fooli-um, who are you anyway? And don't…don't call me your daughter. I have only one set of parents, and both have passed away. You don't possess the right to call me your daughter._

_**Who I am is the reason why I call you my daughter. Anything in Egypt related**__** to water and life is my child. The essence of water in your magic was a gift from me-you are consequently what your modern time would call…my foster child.**_

_You-you know about me? WHO__ are you? Not your roles, who are you exactly?_

_**Wake up, and you'll see. Most matters have been arranged for you, to ease your transition.**_

_Transition…?_

* * *

"Ah, you're finally awake."

Efrona blinked up at the kind pair of hazel, green flecked eyes, trying to place where she had seen them. Had she seen them before? How had this person broken into her apartment?

Wait…

"Who are you and why are you here?!" was what Efrona tried to hiss, whilst sitting up quickly. However, all she could manage was a low, hoarse groan whilst she moved around weakly in her bed. She felt so drained of energy for some reason.

"Easy," the stranger told her, and helped her to sit up. The stranger-a refined, tall woman probably in her mid-thirties, with thick black, grey-streaked wavy hair pulled back-held a cup to her face. Efrona sniffed it suspiciously (she was suspicious from habit of stranger's offerings) but was too thirsty to resist the clean, fresh smell of water. The water felt wonderfully cool and refreshing, washing away the parched texture of her throat.

"Thank you," Efrona murmured, after she had slowly drained the goblet. The woman turned her back to her for a few moments to set it down, and Efrona used the opportunity unseen to take in her surroundings.

She definitely wasn't in her apartment or in the same place as she remembered last being at, by the banks of the Nile-instead, she appeared to be in some sort of tent, made of material that suggested the great sturdiness of the actual tent, yet seemed lightweight. There was strange furniture scattered about. The bed she lay on was thin and a little hard, just layer upon layer of linen on a reed mattress which was held by a foldable wooden frame-how had she been unconscious on the uncomfortable, strange thing for so long? Having strange dreams too…she could have sworn she was dreaming of someone she couldn't see, while she was wrapped in comfortable, sleepy darkness. Yet that person knew about her ability-she shook of the strange feeling she had after waking up.

Efrona studied the kind-eyed woman who had given her water. She was tanned, wearing an off the shoulder creamy dress with floaty sleeves to her elbows. The equally floaty skirt part split from knees down, letting the material fall around the back of the legs instead of the front to create a short train that barely dangled above the ground-loose enough for running. A high waisted belt of golden, interlinked loops finished the simple, elegant dress. Gold bracelets mainly inset with jasper clinked at her wrists, and a necklace hung from her throat, along with long, dangly earrings inset with jasper. The effect was very oriental.

"Excuse me?" Efrona said uncomfortably. The lady turned toward her questioningly. "Um, May I ask who you are?"

The woman laughed. "I'm sorry; I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Layla, this tribe's main healer. My husband found you on the banks of the Nile river…" she hesitated in saying anything, but there was a glint of awe and confusion in her eyes before it vanished, effectively covered up. "When we went out herb hunting, we didn't expect to bring back a river-child!"

"River-child?" Efrona asked dumbly. There was another nickname to add besides Tristan's 'Frona.'

Layla laughed merrily. "That's this tribe's nickname for you-my husband let his mouth slip, and the name stuck. I don't know how long you were in the Nile for, but it's been half a day since you were found. It's nearly dusk now-been enough time for the name to spread around here."

"Where…where's 'here'?" Efrona asked.

"Not far from the banks of the Nile-we have to stay close to it for water supply."

"Ah…" So she was still in Egypt, near the Nile, Efrona thought with some satisfaction. "So are your husband and you-and any children, if any-a moving family?" A moving family who liked to get into the spirit of ancient Egypt-their oriental clothing screamed it.

"Sort of. My husband and I-no children yet- move with this nomadic tribe, sometimes stopping at some cities," Layla explained.

"No-nomadic tribe? Wow, I never heard of one still existing," Efrona blinked. "That's a really old term."

"Really? That's odd; there are many nomadic tribes in Egypt. You must be a foreigner-I mean, you mustn't have been in Egypt for too long. The fact you are not an Egyptian-or not completely one-is rather obvious, if not through your features, than through your odd dressing style before. Where do you hail from?"

Such formal language, Efrona thought bemusedly. "I hail from…from America." No need to talk about her time as Elisa.

"How strange, I've never heard of this empire or country, 'America.' How far is it approximately from here by ship?" Layla asked curiously. Efrona choked and literally fell off the bed.

NOT HEARD OF AMERICA?! WAS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!

"Isis! Are you okay? Oh dear, I've made light of the gods again," Layla sighed, as she helped Efrona back up. Efrona thanked the lady quietly, but resisted from being pushed back onto the bed. She darted over to the tent flap instead, and went outside.

A village of tents-that was the only way to describe what she saw. Tents of all different colours fluttered in the gentle, warm dusk breeze, and people of all different cultures (judging from their varying shades of skin colour) bustled about minding their own business. All the women wore variations of Layla's style of dressing and jewellery-the teenage looking girls with more flamboyant jewellery. Some wore overcoats that were very familiar to Efrona-in what parallel universe had she been dropped into?

One where the women wore similar versions of Belldandy's goddess outfit. The inner dress such as the one Layla wore was similar to Belldandy's white one except the material wasn't the same, and it was slightly more covering at the chest. However the sleeveless overcoats were the exact same style, if not the material, of a (heaven's) goddess's type of overcoat. Strange!

Efrona looked down at herself, and realised she had been wearing a dress similar to the style of the women of this…nomadic village (she dimly realised the scars on her back were partially showing, but was too shocked at her attire to care). Where were the clothes she wore before? Looking back up again, she realised that not all the people here were Egyptian. In fact, some had café-au-lait skin that, though far from being as pale as hers (hers was near albino, while she had been tan as a child), they certainly were noticeable as not being at least completely Egyptian.

Another thing she realised-she was drawing stares from both the strangely dressed women and the short-robed men of the village. Nervous, Efrona withdrew back into the tent.

Layla misunderstood her bewilderment. "I was going to tell you, dear child, you may not recognise where you are now because it is likely the Nile washed you downstream, possibly a long ways. Which city did you reside in before?"

"I…I…don't know," Efrona mumbled, trying to make sense of her reality. Despite the mix of Belldandy's time and dimension in this tribe, the jewellery and style of life was very oriental-very old oriental. She could have sworn she was in ancient Egypt…but that wasn't possible!

Layla sighed. "I'm sorry to pry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions, despite you only having just waked up. This is the system of the tribe, and part of our safety rules. Please answer them honestly. What's your name?"

"Efrona Kwan," Efrona replied immediately. Layla glanced at her curiously for a moment, before continuing.

"How old are you?"

"I've been sixteen since three days ago."

"Can you describe the location of this place you hail from, America?"

What was she going to say? If she was in ancient Egypt-which was highly unlikely-they wouldn't know her way of describing the location geographically. She couldn't be in the ancient past anyway.

"Well…I don't know how to describe the location," Efrona said honestly.

"Very well, that's alright my dear. Do you know how you were washed up by the Nile? Did you fall in at rougher parts?"

"Um…yes, you could say that."

"Could say that?" Layla raised an eyebrow.

"It's a stupid, minor story."

"Have you been completely honest with me?"

The directness of the question took Efrona aback, and it showed. "I have told no lies," she said firmly.

Layla eyed her carefully, and nodded. "I have the feeling you are not telling the complete truth about yourself. Your explanations are very vague. But you wouldn't be the first one to keep your secrets. This village has its own share of secretive people."

The tent flap fluttered, and a man entered the tent. Layla smiled gently at him. "I told you she would wake up in a few hours, Akii."

Akii, a chocolate-milk tanned, tall giant of a man with short black curls and bright, cheery brown eyes replied, "So you did. Though it was rather obvious she had to wake up sometime."

"You thought she was half-dead," Layla reminded. Akii 'hmphed' and turned his head away.

"That was at first glance. Anyway, since she's awake, we'll have to take her to the village leader. He's waiting for her by a nearby oasis-it's better if we test her as soon as possible. I'm sorry," he added towards her, "miss, but I'll need you to come with me. I promise what will happen soon will not hurt you."

"You can trust Akii won't hurt you definitely, because he's far too courteous towards women," Layla said. She glared at him. "Behave-don't scare her with your crude jokes Akii."

Akii swooped down and kissed her soundly-thus proving he was Layla's husband-and grinned at his wife crookedly. "Jealous?"

"No!" But Layla was smiling in amusement.

"Don't worry, I have you to practise my 'jokes' on, so I won't scare the girl too badly," he grinned, and pulled Efrona out amidst mock-outraged splutters from his wife. "Let's go, before she tried to throw something at me."

Efrona just snickered at the amusing scene that had played out before her. Nevertheless, a small childish part of her wanted a sweet light romance like that-friendly bantering, small kisses…

'Great, now I'm a dreamer kid as well as coward to boot,' Efrona sighed mentally.

Akii suddenly stopped, and surprising her, swung her up onto a horse. "You didn't look like you had any experience in riding, with the absent-minded look on your face when you're so dangerously close. Be more aware next time-some horses might try to kick you otherwise," Akii advised. "You don't have any experience in riding, am I right?"

"I have some experience…" Efrona said uncertainly. She remembered when she had ridden a horse after the Pharaoh to the gully where he duelled for the first time with Raphael. Well, she hadn't ridden the horse-more like she depended on the horse to help her stay on, and not buck her off. Something she did with magical influence and pleading. She couldn't show her magic now however. There was a witness here.

"On second thought, I have no experience-sorry," Efrona sighed. Akii smiled.

"That's alright. I'll lead the horse and you just sit there and try not to fall off."

"Hey, I'm not that clumsy," Efrona insisted, as they plodded away to wherever they were going.

She didn't think not to trust Akii, because at the moment she didn't know if she should trust her own crazy mind. She couldn't have time-travelled! That only happened in sci-fi movies and books. Since she had no stable thought in mind, she needed to depend on someone else for awhile for a sense of reality.

* * *

Silently, Efrona followed Akii through the many trees of this strangely lush oasis. They had dismounted at the edge of the thick forest of trees surrounding the oasis perimeter and gone on foot from there, travelling deeper within the trees, searching for their destination.

Efrona was sure this oasis held traces of magic. A reverent, heavy atmosphere hung in the air, silencing Akii's earlier teasing and instantly prickling at her senses to be alert.

"What is going to happen?" Efrona asked. Her question seemed oddly loud in the unnatural hush.

Akii shook his head. "I can't explain. Only the village leader can-but I can tell you about the village leader. He is one of the few magic users within our tribe, and the all males within his family have been tribe leaders ever since this tribe first began, long ago. I don't know what generation leader he is now, but he is just as powerful in wielding magic as his ancestors. Yes magic," he said, to Efrona shocked look. "He is one of a few magic users within our tribe, though he is certainly the most powerful in a sense."

Way too much information within one day. First being transported to another place-possibly another _time_-found by a village who had elements of Belldandy's time and dimension, and finding out this village leader had _magic_-Efrona's head was a jumbled mess she struggled to organise.

They broke out of the trees, and into a clearing. A small lake took up the centre, with a river leading from it away, winding through a slightly cleared path to her left-it must attach back to the Nile, Efrona guessed. Kneeling by the banks of the lake was a man somewhere between the middle-aged and elderly stage. His short hair was a faded yellow blonde, eyes closed and large, caramel toned hands lay on his knees lightly.

He opened cool, deep grey eyes and regarded Akii and Efrona with a serene smile. "Thank you for bringing her Akii. Young miss, please step over here."

Akii bowed and backed away, enormous respect evident in his actions and features. He left the clearing, leaving Efrona alone within the cocoon of serenity this place emanated. Efrona slowly, cautiously moved forward until she was a few metres behind the village leader.

"Step forward," he told her softly, and she edged nervously to his side. Why was she so nervous?

Because of everything, she realised. This man, with his calm, constant presence that subtly demanded attention; this location, and the overbearing, relaxing serenity of it. Was this naturally what the place and this man was like, or was it his magic, somehow affecting the mood? (Efrona wouldn't put it past magic-she'd seen too many types of demonstrations not to put it as an option.) She instinctively knelt by the man's side and took the same pose as him.

"My name is Amun. What is yours?" he asked curiously. Efrona gulped under his questioning gaze-never has she seen such a probing gaze. It was as if he was sifting aside every layer of her mind, every facet of her mixed personality, to try and find the centre, where lies and truth could be clearly seen. She didn't like the comparison she herself thought up-and looked away from him.

"My name is Efrona," she said. "Layla asked me a few questions already."

"Please repeat your answers to her then," Amun encouraged.

The oppressive serenity of the place pressed even heavier down on her. Efrona _was_ going to be honest, she really had been planning to tell the truth-if only half truths and modified answers-but the oppressiveness irked her, and she changed her mind and decided to lie. She could always come from the Hittite Empire or something. However, when she opened her mouth-

"My complete name is Efrona Kwan. I was born in Indonesia, but I've moved around a lot."

She snapped her mouth shut again in shock and gaped at Amun. He merely smiled.

The lake in front of them, Efrona suddenly noticed, was glowing. Not exactly glowing like radiation in cartoons, but it seemed to shine subtly golden. To her complete shock, tendrils of water rose up out of the lake, and like scarves in the wind, twisted, fluttered and twined around each other to create a water cocoon. She could see a strong golden glow in the centre, through the water.

"What-?!" Efrona spluttered, but Amun hushed her.

"Please calm down. If it bothers you a lot, just ignore it. Please continue with your answering. The water presence is just a witness."

"Witness?"

"Answer first."

Efrona sighed in frustration and tried to think up more modified truths. Only, her mind seemed to go blank when she tried. "Um…"

"I think you've realised that you can't lie here," Amun said gently. "It is best to answer truthfully, and completely too. That way this may be over with quickly."

"_You may trust him, daughter."_

This time even Amun looked shocked. "By the Nile's waters…!"

"_Amun, meet your sibling in ability. Efrona, the same."_

"You…you are a child of Hapi? You can control water?" Amun gasped, shocked. Efrona gaped back at him, eyes so wide they began to smart.

"I could ask you the same! You're controlling the water now aren't you? And who is Hapi? The water god?" Efrona asked. The last bit was a little sarcastic. She didn't expect the reply to come from the sudden third party within the water cocoon.

"_Yes, Hapi is the water god-god of the Nile, and life. Provider of your power, which is a large variation from my son Amun's, but still related."_

"Stop calling me your daughter. You don't have the right to!" Efrona protested. This was really familiar…just like the argument in her dreams…no, this third party couldn't be! This defied logic of power, of time!

When was magic logical though? If that wasn't logical, how many things weren't?

"_That's right, my foster daughter. I am Hapi, god of the Nile and life. Welcome to ancient Egypt, my dear."_

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Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry folks, this chapter might be a little corny. It's late as it is, and that's because I've tried rewriting it four times...I'm not compeltely satisfied with the final outcome, but it's decent, and the best I could think of. This is mainly a filler chapter, just to get the setting and some more characters out. It might be a bit boring.

I've fixed up some minor mistakes in the previous chapter, thank you to **mwaetht** for pointing it out.

Thank you to these people for their reviews: **mwaetht**, **The Duelist's Heiress**, **SS-lover06**, and **Koragirl**. :D

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Not much was said by the Egyptian water god, after that confirmation of where Efrona was, in what time period vaguely. Even if he had spoken a lot more than he did, she wouldn't have heard him. She was still struggling to accept the fact she had been dragged out of her own time.

She was still sensible and coherent enough to understand the minimal words he did say. He laid down two rules for her-one; keep her modernity a secret at all costs. The past was not meant to collide with the future any more than it already had. She was free to tell people she trusted about her personal past if she wished, but she would have to edit heavily, or make up a few things to explain the modern aspects of her past. (Why bother talking of the past if so much effort had to be put into editing?) Two; she had to integrate with ancient Egyptian life for awhile, until her time in the ancient era finished.

After those rules, Hapi addressed Amun and announced she was trustworthy and a good soul, that she would stay with the nomadic tribe until she chose to leave, and to treat her as any other tribe member.

After that, the ball of water and golden light that symbolised Hapi in the lake dispersed. The light faded, and the water collapsed back into the lake. The lake regained its former serenity, becoming as smooth as glass.

Efrona was so stunned by the information bombarded at her that her usually sharp mind blunted, and she became careless. Consequently, she forgot to ask two things: why the hell she was even in ancient Egypt, and how long she would be in it.

Those two unknown factors would haunt her for the rest of her time in ancient Egypt.

* * *

She learnt many things as her stay in the ancient era lengthened.

The nomadic tribe she was staying with was a very mysterious one, well known for its great entertainment throughout Egypt, but not much else was known about it. There was hardly any background information about it, and for good reason.

"I'll tell you a little about myself, since Akii and I will take care of you for awhile," Layla told her, as soon as the nomadic tribe was informed of their newest member-herself, Efrona.

"You don't have to," Efrona had rapidly said. "You sound as if you are reluctant to do so."

Layla just chuckled. "I'm not reluctant, just wondering how much to say." What she said floored the younger girl completely.

Layla had once been a concubine to the Hittite Emperor. She had been born in Egypt, but her parents moved to the edge of the Hittite Kingdom when she was very young, and raised her near the Egyptian and Hittite land border. During her thirteenth summer (how she said her age) a plague swept through the Hittite countryside, killing hundreds of thousands of people, including her parents.

A year later, the Hittite Emperor visited her rural area to uplift the spirits of the people. At the time he was a very young man of about sixteen summers, boisterous and a womaniser. She had been a very beautiful girl for her age, and the King had sighted her looks. He took her to his palace, where she was made his concubine at fourteen. She was an unwilling but silent bride at the time, for who would argue with the great nation's ruler?

Despite being the youngest and freshest of his three concubines, she quickly became the Emperor's least favourite. She simply had no will to amuse him, and he grew bored of her. The other concubines took her to be an arrogant girl, and schemed ways to get rid of the pestilence in their life. They failed many times, but were undiscovered. Layla's life as a concubine was unpleasant and lonely, constantly avoiding assassination schemes by jealous women the same status as her.

A few years later, when she was nineteen, she narrowly escaped being eaten by crocodiles at the river she was wading at, some distance from the palace. However, it gave her the idea to fake her death and run away. This is exactly what she did.

"I'm not proud of what I did after," Layla admitted to Efrona. "I was desperate and alone, so I stole for awhile to survive. I stole food, provisions, and water, as well as clothes and a horse. Then I rode for the only country I was sort-of familiar with. Egypt.

"I managed to get by as a small thief for a year or so. Then as I was stealing, a man caught me at it. He was a handsome man with kind eyes and a quirky smile. He asked me if I wanted to continue being a thief, or if I wanted to find another life for myself. Ashamed of my own actions, I agreed. He led me to this tribe, of which he was a member of himself. I was tested by the water god, this tribe's guardian, and pronounced good-hearted and harmless. The people here accepted me, despite my originally vague accounts of my history, and I eventually opened up my previous life to the people. They still accepted me."

It really wasn't any wonder why this tribe hardly had any background information. Harbouring possible wanted runaways and all.

"A year after I joined this tribe, I married the stranger who helped me," Layla continued.

"Akii?!" Efrona gasped.

"Someone say my name?" Akii asked. He breezed into the tent she and Layla were in, and smiled goofily. Efrona stared from Layla to Akii and back, then shook her head and started folding the linen blankets on her bed.

"I was telling her of our past," Layla told her husband. He gave an understanding nod, and said nothing.

"I am not the only person with a history," Layla told Efrona soon after her life recount. "There are many in this tribe with dramatic pasts like mine, or dark, possibly criminal pasts worse than my thieving. Some are runaways, who have escaped harsh or constrained lives. Yet they are all good people, because all the people in this village have been brought before the sacred god Hapi at some stage. Our tribe guardian picks out those with evil intent or malice in their hearts, and we must cast them out of the tribe after erasing these certain people's memories. The ones Hapi has judged as good of heart may choose to stay with this tribe, or leave. Many stay."

"Why?" Efrona couldn't help but ask. "Not that this tribe isn't kind, but why do people prefer this roving life rather than settling down?" She couldn't understand it, though that was because she had spent the last few years roving around out of necessity and habit. She hadn't volunteered to begin a life like that. Or was it her fear that drove her to do that?

Layla smiled at her question. "Since you've only just come, you wouldn't have noticed it," she said. "But if you stay with this tribe for awhile longer, you'll gradually notice that the people here are very open. I know that I've surprised you by telling about my runaway past so openly, but this is what happens to many people who stay on-they become very amicable. The people here are so accepting of others, and no matter where you come from, what country you're from, what history you have, you will always be accepted in this tribe. It's like…having a place to belong to. Like home. So even if we don't have a steady structure as home…the people here and their acceptance become our homes."

"You are saying…this feeling of acceptance, bonds of love and friendship; they are what keep you here?" Efrona asked, struggling to comprehend.

None of those made a difference to her in the end though-she was still a wanderer; she still had to betray the people close to her, and even complete strangers, for the sake of safety and duty. Though lately, she had been doing those things out of habit, rather than to avoid magical danger.

"No, they don't keep me here. I willingly chose to stay," Layla chided. "It's difficult to understand. But let's phrase it this way; those who have lost everything-home, family, security-will only need the company, kindness and acceptance of others to create another home, another life for themselves. I left behind my previous life completely, and created a new life here, with this tribe. They have become my shelter now. We could live in a cave, and I wouldn't care. Everyone in this tribe shares the same vague feeling as me. If you decide to stay with us, I have no doubt that you will eventually develop the same feeling."

The feeling she described sounded wonderful-no it sounded safe and warm, like having a campfire during a cold night. Efrona gazed at Layla, this woman with her confident, faithful eyes and warm, dreamy smile, and felt maybe, just maybe, even if she wasn't going to stay with this tribe for long (since she would no doubt be sent back to her own time soon) she could try and develop the same sense of belonging. She could relearn this feeling she lost at twelve, relearn the meaning of being home.

Then reality kicked in-she was in ancient Egypt only temporarily (she was sure). To create that type of bond, with people she was certain to leave, was stupid. It would only hurt both parties in the end. Certainly, she could honestly say she had no home-just a residence in her original time, cold and lonely. But that place, that time was more of a home than here in ancient Egypt. She lost everything most precious to her there, but over there was everything she knew.

This strange place was temporary shelter, just like any of the other places she had briefly resided in. Soon she would have to move on. It was better not to get involved with those types of bonds.

Layla saw the gradual darkening of Efrona's expression. The younger girl's expression had become closed. She shrugged. "Resist all you want, you won't be able to remain cold for long. The spirit of this tribe will affect you at least a little. If it somehow doesn't, then please at least have the respect to keep our residents a secret. Some of us could be ex-criminals for all you know."

Efrona didn't want to say anything negative or dubious about the tribe that was willing to take her, a complete stranger in so freely. So all she said was, "I promise to keep others' pasts a secret."

* * *

During her first week out of her time, she formed a new bond despite her misgivings, stronger than even she knew.

"Hello! You must be the river-child everyone is talking about. You're not the child I was expecting though," a low, friendly voice chimed behind her.

Efrona straightened from her crouched position by the water tub, temporarily stopping her diligent scrubbing at laundry. (It was the only task she was decently skilled at so far, until Layla and Akii, who volunteered to take her in as something of a niece, taught her to do other tasks.) She blinked up at the person who greeted her.

"Hello," she replied politely.

The person was a young man, maybe a few years older than her. He towered over her with his height, though that could be attributed to the fact she was shorter than the average girl. His pale blonde hair was loose and careless, flopping slightly into green eyes that twinkled playfully at her. The broad friendly smile on his tanned face imitated the playfulness in his eyes.

"I'm Jumoke-the village head Amun is my uncle," the man, now named Jumoke, said. He smiled again, with a strange mixture of boyish mischief and roguish playfulness seen on flirting men. What the hell-flirting? Where had that come from?

"And I'm Efrona. Nice to meet you," she nodded, and flashed a smile at him, revealing remnants of the polite, cheery mask she used to wear in front of Yugi and his friends. He frowned at her then, and unexpectedly poked her in the ribs. Efrona jumped sky high, shocked at his action. She stared at him strangely for a few moments, feeling something building up at the back of her throat at his cheeky expression. Despite trying to smother it, a small giggle escaped her lips, amused at his poor prank.

"There she is!" Jumoke crowed triumphantly. Efrona blinked.

"There is who?" she asked.

"The real you, not the held back one. You should be more natural, it's far more attractive than that mask you were attempting to put on in front of me."

"Excuse me? I was being polite by trying to smile." How the heck had he seen through her…well, her mask?

"Polite is all well and good, but I want to know you better, not your façade. So if you smile at me, don't use that practised one. If you ask my friends, they would tell you that I hate pretences."

Efrona balked. He certainly wouldn't like her then. Pretence made up half her life. Or it used to, anyway.

As if Jumoke read her thoughts, he said, "I don't care about your past, nor does anyone else in this tribe. You're free to tell it when you're comfortable. For now, you're considered a new addition to the family."

"…family? Don't be so presumptuous!" Efrona said coolly, and then balked again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude. Just that…I don't like talking about it much."

Jumoke shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't realise. Which is another reason for me to get to know you. So I know what to avoid. What do you say-friends?"

Efrona glanced at his proffered hand. One side of her was telling her to refuse it. It would be better not to make any bonds here, when she could up and leave any time. Another part was saying it was rude to reject that offer. Both parts were drowned out by the lonely keening in her heart that yearned for companionship of some sort. It was the same part of her that convinced her that, for awhile, it was okay to be friends with Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan and the Pharaoh (Atem). Following the desire of that voice had only led to betrayal on her part, and her heart getting hurt. It wouldn't be wise to follow that part of her again, but something about this place, the people in this tribe, made her feel more relaxed and less guarded about herself. It almost sounded like a good idea.

Layla was right. It was easy to feel comfortable in this tribe.

"I don't think I'm a good person for a friend Jumoke. I should warn you beforehand. You wouldn't have liked me before, in the past, and I doubt I will change."

"It's my choice who I make friends with though, right? Besides, I'm looking at the present you, and I see a potential good friend," Jumoke said firmly. "I have always been able to read people from their expressions very well-some people even call it a power. You have no more excuses now. Yes or no?"

Efrona gazed into his eyes, and saw complete honesty there. _I'm looking at the present you_-Jumoke had no idea how much those words meant to her.

Efrona smiled merrily, and just for a moment, Jumoke glimpsed something close to childish delight in her eyes. It was gone in a flash, but he still saw it. It almost literally made her eyes glow in its joy. Her lips curved upwards just slightly and her expression was a cross between contentment and laughter. The expression lasted just as briefly as the soft glow in her eyes, and it faded just as quickly as it came. Jumoke only caught the momentary changes because of his sharp skill with detecting expressions. He could only stare at her, stunned. 'Is that-is that her true nature? I've never seen someone hide it so thoroughly,' he thought dazedly.

He was fascinated, he realised. What had really started out as a blunt, open offer at friendship had, for him, become fascination over a girl who could contain so much in one expression.

"Thank you Jumoke. So much. You have no idea how welcoming your offer is," she said, clasping his hand briefly. She let it go, and turned to glare at the laundry. "Now, no offence, but I think we should stop talking. I have to get this laundry done soon."

She bent down once again, pushing the red-edged, midnight blue overcoat she wore (to hide the scars on her back) out of her way. She didn't want to admit it, but the outfit she wore now, to integrate with tribe life, was not only similar to Belldandy's as she saw in her previous dreams, but also exactly the same as the one she wore in the dream Yami and Yugi saw her in. All three had possibly been seeing her future.

Jumoke watched as Efrona glanced down, irritated at her dark overcoat. He didn't understand why she didn't just take the thing off if it hindered her working. Then he saw her pause in scrubbing once again, to glare at her overcoat moodily. Any sign of merriment from before was gone, and her expression was closed, so much so that even he, who was known to be a master at reading people's emotions, couldn't see what she felt. She was hidden once again.

His fascination grew.

* * *

During the next two weeks she established a place for herself in the tribal community. The water tribe found her likeable, and the children found her novel and exciting.

"Teach us another game big sister! Please!" The children pleaded. Efrona shook her head reluctantly, giving them a gentle smile.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You children have to go back to your homes soon," she said lightly.

"But Frona!" Efrona mentally winced at the nickname. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was a little too odd for her tastes. However, it was the only nickname anyone could come up with for her name. It was what Tristan had come up with too, what seemed a long time ago.

'Trust myself to pick a hard name. I had these weird nicknames coming. At least no one has called me a tree frond yet.'

"If I teach you a new game now, you won't have time to play it. How about something else?"

"Like what?" a girl near her asked.

"Um…how about…a song!" Efrona blurted out the first thing that came into her head. Immediately after suggesting it she felt like hitting her head against a wall. Smart. The tribes' people knew she had magic that could control water, a little like what Amun could do (except that they hadn't really met to discuss that aspect yet). None knew what her voice could do to nature, and she had hoped to keep it that way.

Fortunately, her suggestion seemed to cause dissent among the group of children around her. "Songs?" the young boys, the eldest near her being about six, spluttered. "That's boring!"

"No it isn't!" the girls argued. "At least it's something to do."

"Awwww! My mother is calling me back! Quick, big sister Efrona, sing something!" one girl pled amidst all the arguing.

Efrona hesitated. She didn't have to sing a large song, just a small quiet song. Just for the children. Even the boys looked reluctant to go back to their parents, away from their newest entertainment.

She took up the miniature harp that Layla had been teaching her to play, and tried to recall one of the simple tunes the older woman had taught. With gentle fingers, she plucked the harp as carefully as if she were patting a small animal. Her lips opened minimally to softly sing out the words she heard Layla hum before, words about the wind's travels as it swept freely over the barren planes of Egypt, the things it must have glimpsed on its journey.

Efrona had no idea how much she missed singing, and how much she missed composing her own songs on her guitar back in her own time, until now. Even the embarrassment of having plants bloom as she sang didn't seem to matter as long as she could indulge in her favourite hobby. If she closed her eyes, and kept singing, she could imagine for a moment she was back at her modern residence, plucking contently at the guitar she owned, creating random lyrics that would eventually turn into a song.

She never had a home-a place she could feel comfortable at. Only residences, to be used for a short time until she had to move once more. She had a piece of contentment with her though, in the form of her own talent. In fact, if she concentrated really hard now, she could even feel the serenity that came with singing, or thinking of an occasional pleasant thought that made her space out. Such a nice feeling compared to fear.

Efrona opened her eyes, blinking as she noticed the many pairs of eyes staring at her. All were stunned, as if they had seen her sprout wings. She gulped, and looked down at the sandy, packed ground.

Where her feet were placed, what should have been barren ground was covered with tiny blades of grass. It was yellow, not at all like the fresh green grass she would see in parks; it looked dried out and unhealthy. Still, this was the desert, and the grass had done its best to grow despite the lack of nutrients. The people were staring first at her, and then at the grass at her feet, and then back at her.

"Lark," one girl broke the astonished silence. "Water lark."

"There's no such thing, stupid," one of the boys retorted. He said it slowly though, as if he was trying to regain his wits.

"There is now," the girl argued back. She went and hugged Efrona. Efrona stiffened briefly, unused to the contact-she forgot how touchy feely young children could be-but then relaxed, hugging the girl lightly back. "Big sister will be the first water lark. She was born in the Nile, after all."

Efrona wondered where that idea came from. The other children however, were slowly nodding their heads at what the girl said, as if it made perfect sense. Even some of the adults were giving amused, concurrent smiles-the ones that had managed to get over their shock quickly at seeing grass suddenly grow in the space of three minutes.

"Um…you should all go back to your parents now," Efrona hastily suggested. "They're probably waiting for you." The children nodded and ran off.

"How come you look so embarrassed?" Jumoke asked, appearing at her side. She shrugged.

"Some adults are still staring…is my singing ability really that weird?" Efrona asked uncomfortably. "I know having grass suddenly grow is strange, but the staring is making me nervous."

"Silly," Jumoke retorted. "Don't you know your own ability? You're not being stared at just because of the grass that suddenly grew-it looks like it's about to die anyway-but because no one's heard singing like that for awhile. From an entertainer's point of view, you have the skill of an old, trained professional singer."

"I'm not an entertainer," Efrona said flatly.

"But this village is known for its great entertainment. Maybe you could entertain by singing, in future performances."

"What do you do?" Efrona asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm not an entertainer," Jumoke replied. "I'm the apprentice to our village carver, and create woodworks with him. Except he has recently told me that he has nothing more to teach me, and that I must go and find another teacher. I have to admit that carving is a talent of mine." He wagged a finger at her. "Don't change the subject though! We were talking about your potential as an entertainer. Not only would your voice credit that, but the magic that goes with it will also be a good attraction."

"What? You're asking me to use magic outside of this village?!" Efrona asked incredulously. Jumoke smirked at her.

"As well as performances, our tribe is also known for our small magic. This tribe has an agreement with the Pharaoh, an agreement that has been passed down through generations. If there is a magic user in our tribe who wishes to train his or her shadow powers, they are welcome to stay at the palace for training."

"Really…" Efrona murmured, interested. Jumoke shot her a suspicious look.

"Are you planning on asking for training for both water and singing abilities? Though I haven't heard of the singing one…"

"My magic isn't Shadow Magic," Efrona dismissed. "Besides, these abilities I have are more embarrassing than something to be proud of. I don't like my own…talents."

Jumoke glanced at her curiously, surprised. If her powers weren't Shadow Magic, what were they? He didn't press for details though-it would just make her uncomfortable. "The children certainly did," he pointed out. "Mark my words, they'll be back with you everyday now, begging you to sing again. That's just the quality of your singing."

He was right. The next day the young children came back, the girls excitedly, the boys embarrassedly, but all had the same request. "Please sing us something, big sister!"

Every time, she didn't have the heart to refuse them. So she did, and watched them walk away afterwards with delighted smiles on their innocent faces-their enjoyment made it worth the embarrassment of grass suddenly sprouting, flowers suddenly appearing, memories suddenly popping up in her mind. Sometimes she sang songs from Egypt, sometimes songs from her own time, sometimes even songs she had made herself. (This was when she discovered that she could still speak English while in Egypt, but only if she chose to and was concentrating hard on speaking that language.)

Each day, for about an hour or so, she sang, and she daydreamed as she did before of being in her own time again, when everything was familiar, even if lonely. Her childhood, her happiness and suffering were all in her own time, not in Egypt, and even if her memories in that time for the last few years had been mostly unpleasant, they were intimately familiar with her mind, heart and soul. She was born and bred there, after all, not in an ancient period of history. She belonged there, not here, and no amount of kind people she met in this old time period could change that fact.

_What's wrong with me?_

_I get lonely in a crowd,_

_Everyone is smiling,_

_But I made myself left out._

* * *

"We're moving again in two days time, and this time we're heading for a village," Jumoke told Efrona. He noticed a flash of homesickness?-cross her blue eyes.

'It's like watching a caged bird,' he thought sadly. 'It's been a moon cycle (month) Efrona. If you're homesick, why don't you go back to your own home?' Abruptly a roar of protest began in his mind, and he realised not only was he fascinated with her; he was fond of her too. He didn't want his fascination's subject to go just yet.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," she told him, and he realised with flush of embarrassment that he had voiced his thoughts aloud. She grinned at him though, despite his rudeness. "Besides, this place is nice, and the people here are so kind. I can't think of anything else I need."

He was going to rebuke her for pretending-he was certain she was lying because it belied the sadness that passed over her face before-when he realised, no, she wasn't lying, but she wasn't telling the complete truth either. Again, he wasn't sure if it was a matter of trust, or her not knowing the answer herself. All he knew was, the longer she stayed away from wherever she originally came from, the more wistful she became, and the less she tried to think about her past. At this rate, she wouldn't open up to anyone. She hadn't so far.

There wasn't much he could do about it either, and as a friend, that irked him.

Two days later, the tribe packed up and rode away from their spot towards another location, showing their nomadic spirit. Along with them went the water lark with wistful eyes.

* * *

Please leave a review.


	3. Chapter 3

So, so, so sorry for not updating for so long! Just that for some reason, all my meagre skills at writing suddenly disappeared. Every paragraph I tried to do came out wrong, or the sentence structure was weird, or the tense was wrong, etc. (I'm serious-it's not the rant of a self nit-picker.) Then writer's block set in for awhile-gah!

Please try and forgive the mistakes in this chapter. I'm typing this up when I can barely see the words straight anymore, five hours of sleep for six nights is taking its toll (can't stand consecutive late nights, as you can tell)…but if I don't get this done now; it won't come out for another two weeks. Also, this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous two because of the aforementioned writer's block-I couldn't think of any other way to improve the chapter. If you have a suggestion, please mention it.

Big thanks to **mwaetht**, **Koragirl**, **The Duelist's Heiress** and **Shadowrunner240** for the reviews-you people don't know how relieved I am that you all liked last chapter to some degree.

* * *

"Why am I doing this again?" Efrona tried to creep away, but was caught by Jumoke around the waist. He hauled her back and kept his grip around her firm as she struggled.

"You're not even dancing-you're only singing. Relax!" he exclaimed, exasperated.

"Easy for you to say! You're not performing at all," Efrona shot back. She tugged at the midnight blue overcoat she wore, so much like what Belldandy wore thousands of years ago. She had found out the design actually came from the original.

"_One of my lady ancestors__, who lived around the time of Pharaoh Narmer, found a strange set of clothes by the Nile," Amun had told her in answer to a curious question. "Just washed up on the bank. She liked the design, and used it for herself. Back then the tribe was very small. The women all wore the same things then, as well as now. Eventually the garment design of those strange set of clothes became the traditional one used for females in this tribe."_

Did Belldandy's body just vanish, leaving her clothes back in the Nile or something, when she fell into Egypt?! Efrona wasn't sure if she really wanted the answer to that…

Jumoke let go of her waist and grabbed her hands instead, stopping them from fiddling with anything else. "I don't understand why you're nervous. You sing often enough to the children, this will be the same thing, except there will be dancers and adults watching."

"You want reasons?" Efrona huffed. She held up a finger. "Firstly, children are an easier audience, and they listened to me to pass boredom. Secondly, this is the first performance I've been included into as part of this tribe, and I don't want to ruin it by singing horribly. Thirdly, plants will sprout! It's-it's-embarrassing!" Efrona folded her arms and looked away, embarrassed. She looked more like a teenager of sixteen at that moment then she ever had so far into her sixteenth year. This actually wasn't very long, if she thought about it.

Jumoke chuckled and ruffled his newest friend's hair. She glared at him, but didn't have the heart to do anything more vicious. He had this way with people-along with being able to read people's expressions uncannily well, he had a sort of natural charisma-an easy-going, frank demeanour that made the people around him relax. He was the type of person who found it easy to make friends and gain trust. Efrona was no exception to this. This was why she appreciated his company so much. It made her forget, temporarily the problems haunting her mind.

Problems which included possibly altering history if she did something stupid or brought attention to herself, and worries that included the question of _when the hell she was going back to her own time?!_

A hand fell lightly on her shoulder. Efrona jumped, and turned to see Layla's amused face.

"Nervous? Don't worry, you'll be fine. You can't make any mistakes anyway, you just follow instinct. You and the dancers are in this together-they dance with their bodies, and you with your voice. You're not alone, see? And if you really think there are such things as mistakes in instinctive singing, then look at it this way-the dancers will cover for you and improvise to go along with you. You'll have to do them the same favour, of course."

"There are no favours," Efrona frowned. "That's courtesy. If I didn't help I would be a selfish bi…" Hastily Efrona cut off the swear word, knowing Layla disapproved their use. She coughed, and swallowed the word back down, pointedly ignoring Jumoke's laughter in the background.

Layla's expression was a mixture of disapproval and satisfaction. "Now that you've controlled your mouth…you'd better go down with the other performers dear. Jumoke can take you to them. Just remember-you're not alone, and have fun, Water Lark!"

Jumoke dragged Efrona away. Efrona let herself be pulled along, mouthing the words 'fun', 'singing', 'plants' and 'crowd' as well as her latest nickname with a bewildered expression.

There was a large fire, similar to a camp fire. Twirling, colourful dancers and darting, leaping shadows on the ground. There were musicians, playing away at their instruments. There was an audience of spellbound adults and children, watching and joining in the entertainment merrily.

Then there was Efrona, who endured the suspicious glares she received from the villagers for being a pale skinned person. As soon as she opened her mouth, they forgot about her appearance-she took them somewhere outside the village with merely her voice, showing them the Egypt the goddess Isis saw on her journey to collect the dismembered parts of her husband Osiris.

An Egypt which hosted the gods, a place in turmoil over the raging war between Osiris and Set. Animals, curiously like Shadow monsters, roaming freely in their eeriness and magnificence, dragons wheeling through the sky. She painted pictures of lotus flowers as large as people's heads, in colours other than blue or white-when odd, non-existent things in normality existed during the reign of the gods. And as she sung, lotus flowers bloomed around her, reaching to people. Some were even cautiously plucked by daring women, who wore it in their hair. Only blue or white ones, but the miracle of suddenly blooming lotus flowers stunned the audience. It was only because of the great trust in the water tribe, which had been a traditional visitor every summer to that village, that Efrona was accepted as a person equal to an Egyptian. Efrona ignored the snide ones who were too prejudiced to try and accept her.

After she had finished the song she was assigned, Efrona was besieged with children of both the water tribe and the village, who grinned at her and called her 'Water Lark'. (What a mouthful.) The name spread through the village audience and was remembered-even if Efrona was a pale-skinned person with a Hebrew name (Hebrews at the time not exactly…approved of), she had managed to impress her audience.

Efrona had developed a second mask, Jumoke thought. Then he realised that no, she had not. The expression she wore as she sung-the warm, fond yet melancholic glint barely discernable in eyes that bordered between blue and grey showed how she truly felt as she sang.

Singing made her homesick, but she enjoyed it too.

The paradox confused Jumoke, and he filed the information away into the special part of his mind he had reserved for his new friend.

The entertainment her tribe put up after the first initial performance of dancers and singers for the villagers was loud, noisy and colourful. People laughed and bustled about, and traders haggled over items. Jumoke himself traded some wood carvings he had admitted to making himself for a few knick-knacks. Children wove in and out of the crowd (and some followed Efrona-why did children seem so fond of her? Not that she didn't like them) and the smell of food scented the air. The atmosphere was merry, happy, and the emotions were infectious.

Unfortunately, Efrona was immune to them at that point in time. Her singing performance, though it had drawn in a lot of attention for her tribe (a good thing in terms of trade), had put her off the good mood. Only Jumoke, who read people so well and had been her guide for the past few weeks, noticed the emotion beneath the smiling, polite façade Efrona had hidden behind during the rest of the revelry. The façade he had disliked at first, and was quickly learning to despise.

That façade hurt her. She made herself isolated with that mask, polite and cheery but no one around her really knew how she felt. The façade, though it cheered and reassured others, made her lonely, and it made her deal with her emotions alone. Unacceptable for a friend to watch. Jumoke couldn't do anything about it though-by the time he noticed, Efrona had isolated herself from the throng of villagers and tribe members alike, and vanished.

If Efrona had realised that Jumoke noticed her cheery mask was back in place, she would have been too ashamed to look him in the eye ever again. But she desperately needed that mask-needed it, so she could isolate herself from others and deal with herself-with the overwhelming wave of homesickness she felt with not being in her own time. After all, all she had been thriving on for the past few years, ever since she was twelve, was memories. They-especially the good ones-were what kept her going through each day, what made her survive after she had her spirit broken once.

Being out of her own time, she felt so far away from her memories. Distance from bad memories was good-but she wanted to be close to her good memories. She was afraid of them just one day…fading, vanishing as the dazzling sunlight of the Egyptian sun faded when night came. Except while the sunlight would return, her good memories would not. The bad memories she couldn't care less about…right?

Then again, without her turbulent past, she would never have changed from being the brat she considered herself to be at twelve, and never would have met Yugi and his friends. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she still had yet to decide on.

Heh-who was she kidding? She was human-she wanted good things without the bad side. She wanted her good memories without feeling homesick, and she didn't want the bad memories that had traumatised and scarred her but at the same time made her character stronger.

Worst of all-she knew she was selfish, and a coward. She was hiding behind her mask once again, in an attempt to deal with her fluctuating emotions-damn, she was weak; she couldn't even control them! Stronger character, yeah right-she kept pretending she had changed for the better. She hadn't.

Why didn't Jumoke hate her yet? She was what he hated-a hypocrite, and a pretender.

* * *

It started off as a passing idea. Then a suspicion. Now, almost a certainty.

"Jumoke?" Efrona asked hesitantly. Jumoke, sitting straight back, silent and strangely moody on his horse, glanced at her. "Is…is Egypt in drought?"

For several weeks, the water tribe had been moving from town to town and entertaining, always following the path of a branch of the Nile River. During those travels, Efrona had gradually learnt how to compare water levels of certain branches of the Nile River with others. She had observed that some were far lower than others, and though she wasn't sure if it was originally like that or not, she couldn't help but ask.

The dying and yellow crops on farms that they had passed had also been an indicator of possible drought.

Jumoke nodded at her question, confirming her suspicions. The moodiness became more apparent in his eyes as he explained. "Yes, Egypt is in a severe drought right now. The last Nile floodings were very poor, and some branches of the Nile were not replenished by much, some none at all. Some branches have already died out-and many people have suffered for it. Farmers' crops have failed, and food production is poor. Not just food production-everything has been affected. Villages along smaller branches of the Nile that still run might have to move, or risk their parts of the river drying up."

Efrona stared. She was aware that there were times in ancient Egypt when droughts affected the nation, dealing the country heavy blows that took a while to recover from. She just hadn't thought such a thing happened during the Pha-during Atem's rule. Between Shadow Games and any other trouble he had encountered during his rule (how long had he ruled for anyway?), how had he coped with a drought, a natural disaster, of all problems?

That was-if Atem _was _ruling during this time. Efrona wasn't sure. She hadn't asked anyone, for fear of being thought any odder than she already was. After all, he was the King of Egypt, and anyone who did not know who the current king of Egypt was, was a fool, or from very far away. Blue eyes, pale skin and the modern clothes she wore when she was first brought, unconscious, to the water tribe hadn't helped her to stay inconspicuous amongst the tribe people.

"Egypt suffers many problems," Efrona mused, feeling sorry for the country. It wasn't an easy place to survive. Yet Egypt flourished as one of the most powerful nations during the ancient era.

She jumped when Jumoke suddenly let out a hiss of frustration. He slammed his fist into his hand, and then groaned, covering his face with one hand. Had he not been holding the reins of his horse with one hand, he would probably have covered his face with both hands.

"How can you be so calm?" he mumbled. "I thought, at first, it might be because you had no idea of the situation in Egypt-how truly bad it was, despite our travels of the past few weeks. How much the people were actually suffering. But now, when you most definitely know…how can you sound so calm about people suffering? How can you be so calm, when you know you have some sort of magic ability, but still, even then, cannot help anyone?" bitterness laced his tone.

Ah, there lay the cause of Jumoke's moodiness.

"You…you have some sort of water ability, don't you Jumoke?" Efrona asked gently. "As well as your uncle, Amun." Jumoke nodded.

"My uncle can summon our esteemed water god, Hapi, through the water. It is an ability given to tribe leaders when they are initiated, just like all children of the tribe leader will have some sort of Shadow Magic related to water. My father, besides being able to use Shadow Magic and water as a summons, can also take a small glimpse at a person's past."

The wide-eyed, almost panicky look in Efrona's eyes made Jumoke frown and backtrack quickly.

"Don't look so scared!" he reassured. "It is nothing precise. The Shadows show my uncle colours in the water, and each colour is a different emotion that the person he is looking up has felt. Then the shade of it determines the strength of the emotion."

"Did he try to find out about me this way?" Efrona asked quietly. Jumoke didn't look at her in the eye, giving her an answer.

"Don't blame him," he said. "It was just after you were found, before you woke up. He was being very cautious, because you could not be questioned, nor judged by honourable Hapi, while unconscious."

"What colours did he see?"

Jumoke swallowed. "He couldn't make one out," he said finally. "He said that there were a myriad of colours, whirling, twisting and moving, but they never stayed still long enough for him to study them-they kept moving. To put it simply, you've had a turbulent past."

"Was there any black?" Black, for hatred. Jumoke hesitated again.

"My Uncle thought he saw a spot," he finally replied. "It might not have been there, or it could have just been a very dark shade of brown or blue," he tried to soothe. Efrona chuckled bitterly, startling him.

"No, if there was black there, then for good reason. Let's get off the subject of my history, it's getting gloomy. What's your ability?"

Jumoke accepted the subject change, carefully filing away the bitterness he had heard from the girl for later inspection. Another facet of her nature, the facet that was stained and scarred. It intrigued him; all of her intrigued him, like a gem he couldn't look away from. Such was the strength of his fascination.

First and foremost though, he was her friend. He would not press about subjects she was not ready to speak about yet.

"My ability is to see the present through water-I call it scrying. Through the water, I can ask the Shadows to seek a specific person out and observe them. Thus I can watch people from over long distances."

"Stalker," Efrona teased. Jumoke looked affronted.

"I may be blunt, a little nosy, boisterous, loud, and I may unnerve people with my ability to read their true expressions, but I'm not a pervert. You should be thankful for that, Efrona."

"I feel sorry for the girl who will one day be…how you say it formally…the object of your affections," Efrona commented dryly.

Jumoke refrained from saying that he didn't have any, because at the moment she was his current fascination. Affection and fascination were NOT the same, by the way. He hoped.

"Come on, I've told you my uncle's and my abilities," he urged. "What's yours?"

Efrona cast a thoughtful glance at the low river she and the whole tribe were horse riding at easy speed along. Then she looked ahead, in the direction the distant town they were heading towards. She pursed her lips.

There were so many reasons why she did not want to tell anyone of her ability. She did a mental checklist on the reasons why she was reluctant to tell anyone about her magical abilities. It went something like this:

She'd been keeping her abilities a secret for four years already, ever since she discovered them. Yugi and his gang she had owed an explanation to, so they were the exception to this. Hold on, she owed a large debt to this water tribe, and Jumoke had told about his and Amun's abilities….there went the validity of this reason.

Telling Jumoke her ability to control water specifically would acknowledge that she could in some way help Egypt. She wasn't meant to be in this ancient time-what if she interfered, and messed up the timeline somehow? Or changed something important? She could accidentally save a village that was meant to die out or something…that actually wasn't a bad thing, but what if there were bad consequences to it? (Like what? She wanted to ask herself.) She could help, but also create more problems accidentally…somehow.

If the water tribe asked her to help Egypt, she would not refuse. She owed them, after all. And this water tribe had a kind heart-saving one or two villages wouldn't do. Then she would have to help the whole country, not just one town. She would become conspicuous, and a figure talked about by the nation. She would rather go back to her own time soon, leaving as little trace of herself behind as possible. Why hadn't she been sent home yet anyway? Not that she had done anything particularly helpful so far…

Why did her checklist seem pathetic? So…whiny?

Efrona thought of people suffering, and her looking on whilst knowing she could possibly help them. Possibly, but never even tried. That was just cruel though! She shouldn't hog her own powers. Selfish, her conscience whispered. She was being selfish and whiny, making up excuses to both why she didn't want to tell anyone her powers, and for not wanting to help where she could.

_Coward._ She hadn't changed. That was what spurred her forward.

"You asked me before how I could be so calm about Egypt's suffering," Efrona stated slowly. "To tell the truth, I was thinking…one of my abilities might, _might_, be of use. I need to talk to you and your uncle-there are some things you should know before you get all hopeful. Don't look at me like that!"

Jumoke was giving her a huge grin. "I don't care if you really had a spot of black in the colour history uncle saw. You're still a kind person, with the will to help others."

His words made Efrona uncomfortable, because just a few moments ago she had been hesitating on telling him anything, hesitating in helping his country. Almost considered just letting others suffer when she could help. It made her guilty-it made her conscience squirm like a worm.

And it made her want to try hard, as hard as she could, to help.

* * *

It took a long time to explain to Amun and Jumoke Efrona's power over water, and it wasn't because it was overly difficult to understand. Uncle and nephew were profoundly curious of her powers, and Efrona had trouble redirecting their conversation from touchy areas. Thankfully, Amun and Jumoke were tactful, and noticed when they hit uncomfortable topics. They steered away from those topics quickly.

So many questions, some almost unrelated to the actual topic of helping Egypt. What were her powers, if they weren't Shadow Magic? Was her water power, as well as others, born into her, or was it her bracelet that generated her magic? Did her wolf necklace do anything? What was 'ice'? Of those questions, the last question was the only one Efrona would give a straight and simple answer to.

Amun was never one to be truly side-tracked from matters at hand though. Eventually, he linked his fingers together and looked at Efrona probingly. "We the water tribe, as we are the only ones who know of your power, would like to ask for your assistance in surviving this drought, and helping the country and its people. I'm sure you are now aware of Egypt's current problems, due to the poor floodings last summer. I ask now-will you be willing to help?"

Efrona was ready with an answer. On the way to Amun's tent, accompanied by a quiet by hopeful Jumoke, Efrona had carefully thought of an answer that would compromise between what Amun and Jumoke (currently only those two) wanted her to do, and also resolve most of the issues she had in mind with telling them of her magical abilities, and helping Egypt.

"I will help-my conscience won't allow me to turn away from this problem. However, I have a few conditions…"

* * *

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